A Place to Call Home
by Sombereyes
Summary: My home is someplace else, with someone else. I just haven't found my own path yet. Although to be honest, I don't know if I ever will. - Story takes place several years after book four. Korra/Jinora, Lin-Pema/Tenzen, Asami/Kuvira, Bolin/Opal.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Please excuse the long author's Note. I promise it will be the only one that's this long in the entirety of the fanfiction.**

This is my first expansive look at the LOK series, and it nods back to themes we've already seen before, along with themes we have not. As before, I leave the disclaimer that this is me just playing with storyline conventions. It may not work out for the better, but we will never know unless I try.

This fiction takes place ** _several years after_** Book Four: Balance, for obvious reasons.

I have no idea how long this will be, but, I do know the direction I plan to take it. I have a good bit of it fleshed out, so for those of you who want to join in on the ride, it should be…an experience…let's just put it that way.

As before pairings are not entirely your typical fare. Korra/Jinora is the pairing oddity this time around, with nods to both cannon past relationships, and the probable future. Asami/Kuvira make an entry once more, as I dive more deeply into what could make such a romance work. The final nod is to Lin, and her complex relationship with Pema and Tenzin. Bolin/Opal will make appearances, but just how deep I dive remains to be seen.

If you've glance at my other two LOK works, then you know the catalysts sparking this attempt at a much longer fiction. Let's call this a trial in total and complete idiocy, and get underway.

Chapters one and two go up today, to give you a taste of what you're getting into if you choose to follow, favorite, and review.

 ** _TL; DR: Pairings are not typical, the story many not be either. It's an experiment on my behalf, and should be viewed as such, flaws and all._**

 **A Place to Call Home**

 **Chapter 1**

In a perfect world, love would stand tall against all of the elements. It would empower them. It would overcome them. Love, in a perfect world would prove to be only the start of absolute unity, the first step to enlightenment. It would be a tribute to all that ever was, and all that it would ever be. That would be truly wonderful. You see, love is very much like air, is such a free thing. It should not be constrained, never shackled.

One day, you too, will come to understand.

Love, is thing that is not entirely seen, and therefore, it cannot be judged. It has such great power, to sway the very world around it. Love and air, they go hand in hand, this I am sure.

Alas, the world is not perfect. Love does not always prevail. Sometimes, also like wind, it becomes merely a faded breeze. Something that always lingers, always exists, even when it goes on forgotten. As an air bender, you should always follow the wind, and do as it bids you to. In this, I assure you, you will find happiness.

-Tenzin, to his eldest daughter, Jinora-

…

Summers were hot in Republic City, so hot in fact, that nighttime was almost unbearable for a woman used to the cold of the south. She tossed and turned, blankets little more than a mound on the floor that she ignored. Her clothes clung to her, as did her hair, and she was thankful it was so short now. She couldn't imagine how stifling it would be if she grew it back out.

Blowing a puff of air from between her lips, she sat up and lifted the edge of her shirt, wiping off the sweat on her face. There was no breeze, the air dead, the night unusually calm. Nights like these, were just the sort of night that Korra hated.

The spirits were silent, the bugs too exhausted to make a peep, and even the rolling waves left echoes of their former glory, no white caps to be seen, not even in the distance. Korra slumped against her window, lazily watching the world as it seemed to despise the heat as much as she did at that moment.

Her eyes trailed to the photo of Asami, missing the woman terribly, but ultimately accepting the fact that their timid relationship didn't last. They remained awkward friends, and found it easier to talk over the phone or through lengthy letter than face to face.

For Korra, it was just too hard to face the beautiful woman, knowing that she'd lost her chance to be with her.

Feeling the cool tapping of her companion's coal black nose against her arms, Korra sighed. "Sorry girl, I know it's hot out." The polar bear dog made a few more noises of discontent until Korra began to pet her. "Come on, Naga, let's go see if can't find someplace cooler to be."

The large beast seemed to agree as they exited the room and made their way down the long corridors of Tenzin's home. The place was quiet, the children sleeping. Tenzin probably was too, but as it so happened, Korra was not the only one away at the late hour.

"Pema?"

"Unable to sleep?" The woman asked from her place, she was mending some clothes by the looks of it, her basket sitting on the dining table with all sorts of threads and needless. "There's some iced tea in the kitchen, Korra. It might help to keep you cool."

"Yeah, sounds good." Korra admitted, as she went off to get some. Returning a moment later, tall glass in hand, she sat beside the mother of four. "So, What are you doing up?"

"Fixing Meelo's clothes." Pema said with a little smile. "There are plenty of chores that I never find the time to get done during the day. This just happens to be one of them."

"Oh, I guess that makes sense." Korra said sheepishly. She never really noticed, and felt a little bit bad about it. "Do you do this a lot?"

"Often enough I suppose. I don't mind, it's nice to have the house to myself every now and then. With everyone asleep, I can relax. Around here that's a luxury I don't often have." Pema set down her sewing, giving the dark skinned woman a knowing little glance. "So tell me, what's the latest and greatest?"

Korra shrugged quietly, sipping her tea.

This caused Pema to sigh. "How about Bolin?"

"He's still in Zaofu, with Opal. I don't know where they're going next." Korra was happy for him, but outside of a few occasional letters, she didn't hear much. "Guess being an air nomad has Opal going all over the place, and leave it to Bolin to follow her around like a lost puppy."

"He was always such a nice young man. Always looks for the good in everyone, no matter who they are." Pema said with a knowing little nod, all while folding her hands in her lap. "A little naive perhaps, but I think that only adds to his charm. Opal will keep him out of trouble, I'm sure."

With that, Korra smirked. "Careful not to tell Mako that. He's still convinced that Bolin should come back to republic city."

"Oh, what does he know?" Pema frowned then, reaching back for her sewing to occupy her. She didn't want to say something she might regret. "He's a good man too, Mako. He just needs to find someone to occupy his time…someone who'll tell him off when his head gets too big."

"Oh yeah, like who?" Korra asked.

Pema said nothing, but her gaze spoke all.

"Me?!" Korra noticed her raised voice and lowered it. "Oh, no way. That's not happening ever again. He's a friend, that's it."

"You're lonely." Pema put down her sewing again. She'd been meaning to talk to Korra for a long while. "You used to go sneaking around at night, and since you were an adult, I made Tenzin leave you alone about it…then, about a year ago, you stopped. Then you started moping around, and you're still moping around."

"Yeah…well, can't go out all the time, right?" Korra asked, but there was something in Pema's stare. A knowing gaze, motherly, protective.

"Was it you and Mako?" Pema asked pointedly. "Did something else happen?"

"No, not since I was a teenager." Korra answered, completely honest. "It was…someone else."

"Someone else?" Pema parroted, before understanding fell over her. Of course it was someone else, and with that guilty expression on Korra's face, the number of people it could have been dwindled into a very small handful. "Oh, so that's how it is. I suppose all of the nights Tenzin spent worrying that you might get pregnant was all for naught then."

"Pema…please…" Korra didn't want to talk about it. "Not now."

"Tenzin worries about you." Pema sighed. "I worry about you. Many people do." She considered her options, before sighing, putting a comforting hand on Korra's shoulder. "It would have been a comfort to know you were with Asami."

Korra recoiled, brushing that hand away and backing into Naga. Icy blue eye found Pema's own deep emerald, they froze in deadlock. Pema shocked at Korra's expression. One of terror, harboring fear, and possibly regret. Naga huffed an unhappy sound, worried for her master, even still, Korra didn't budge. Pema knew that look, it was the same as a child waiting to be chastised for some sort of terrible wrongdoing. The same expression she saw in her eldest, Jinora, who so often carried the weight of her younger siblings, and the air nation, on her back.

Pushing some of her brown hair behind her ear, Pema moved forward, taking Korra's hands in her own. This was not the reason she wanted, or expected. "Korra?" She asked worriedly. "Honey, you're shaking. It's okay." Korra flinched, and Pema's grip grew more steadfast. "It's okay…"

Blue eyes hit the floor, and the avatar said nothing. No words, and she could deny it. If she spoke, her voice might possibly betray her. Korra didn't to want to risk that.

Pema knew that reaction too. "Korra? Korra, look at me."

Eyes lifted obediently, body wound like a coil, ready to flee at the first sign of anger.

Pema offered the gentlest smile she could muster. "It's not a bad thing…it's not." She edged a little closer. "Love is a good thing, Korra. Man or woman, it doesn't matter."

"Yeah…" Avatar or not, she felt weak. "So you say."

"It is when you're me." Korra said tightly. "I screwed up."

"You didn't." Pema knew, she'd suspected for a long time, but with no proof, she said nothing. Who was she to jump to conclusions? Now though, she wished she had spoken sooner. "Asami's place and yours are different, that's all. You were like two ships passing in the wind, that time was precious. It will always be so."

"It was the distance that did it." Korra swallowed hard. She wouldn't cry. Not again. No more tears, no more hating herself. "Anyway…now I don't have a reason to sneak out, right? Do me a favor, don't tell Tenzin."

"It's not my place to tell him, but maybe you should. He won't judge you, he cares too much about you to do that." Pema was assured of that much. She knew Tenzin too well, the man doted on her less like Korra's teacher, and more like her father. "Korra, you can be yourself here. You don't have to hide from anybody."

"It's not the gay thing that bothers me, alright?!" Her resolve was crumbling under her. "It's not the Asami thing either. Just…" How could she say it? She couldn't even think it, let alone give it words. There was so much more to this that coming out of the closet, and spirits knew it. "Don't tell him. You can't tell him. If you tell him, he's going to try and tell me I need to meditate more, or something and right now….right now…." She squeezed her eyes shut, and cursed an invective that would have had Pema furious if it had been any other time. "I can't reach the spirit world, and if you tell him…" Korra began curling into herself again.

She couldn't deal with this.

The disconnect.

It was so strong now that every time she stepped near a spirit portal it sent her flying backwards. She couldn't get in that way, either.

Pema sighed, her many year of motherhood serving her well when she pulled Korra into her arms as the both leaned against Naga. "I won't tell him." The avatar was like a daughter to her too, so it hurt to see the water tribe girl like this. "I'm here…I'm here now, don't cry."

…

Air benders could fly at great lengths, for hours on end, gliding through the sky from one place to another.

Jinora, loved flight.

High above the ground, she soared, looking at the beautiful world beneath her. She could see so much from so high up. The lives of people, spirits, and animals, living in unity. That's what she loved most. The freedom, the thrill. Sometimes, it was her only solace. Sometimes, she needed to let her eyes wander, instead of her mind. This tumultuous day, of all days, that fact gripped her.

Especially when her family's home came into view, and she landed on the very island that she had been born on.

It seemed so strange to her, so distant. It was probably because she wasn't a child anymore.

Then again, she hadn't been treated as a child for quite some time. According to the air nation bylaws, when she had gotten her tattoos, she came of age. At the tender age of eleven, she had become the youngest known air bending master in history.

If the world was a completely safe and peaceful place, or if the air nation was still as prosperous as it once was, she may have gotten married shortly after that. After all, those tattoos were the mark of a master air-bender, but moreover, they were the mark of an adult. Unfortunately, the world was not as safe as it once was. The air nation was small, and though it had grown in size, the old tradition of allowing her to leave home wasn't something she would easily be allowed to do.

Her first pilgrimage on her own wouldn't come until she was older. At the age of fourteen, Tenzin sent her off along with Meelo and Ikki, in search of the avatar. When she returned from that journey unscathed, he was much more comfortable with the idea that she could handle faraway places on her own.

At the age of sixteen, she travelled with Kai. Romantically declaring her interest in the young man the day he received his tattoos. Tenzin ever the worrier, begrudgingly allowed it, come of the situation what may. What else was he to do after all? They were old enough, and daring enough, to make their own path.

At the age of eighteen, Jinora stood alone, wetness in her eyes.

"It's wonderful to have you home." Tenzin said, when he first caught sight of his eldest walking up the steps. Then he noticed her lack of companion, and her saddened gaze. "Where's Kai."

"We've gone our separate ways." Such haunting words, sobs stuck at the back of her throat. It was all she could say.

It was all she had to say.

Tenzin embraced his daughter wholeheartedly as she wept silent tears. It pained him to see her upset. A dark cloud settled over his home that day, and he was powerless to stop it.

…

It was the loneliness that started it all during those all too warm summer months.

Korra stayed in her room, looking out of the window, watching what little she could see from there. Yet, what she saw was a great deal. Jinora would walk up and down the sandy beach, occasionally pausing to gaze out at the water, and in the distance, Republic City. On one of the covered porches, Pema would sit and whittle the day by, either pretending to read, or sew, or to unabashedly watch her daughter with concern. Tenzin would spend hours meditating atop one of the call rocks that got the best breeze, but if Korra didn't know any better, she could swear he kept cracking open his eyes.

From the tiny room, she could see all of it and more.

A few days went by like that, until watching alone became unbearable to Korra. That day, it was just driving her crazy, and she didn't know why. Barefoot she too began to pace the sandy beach. Forward, backwards, forward, backwards. A long line of footprints that stretched out along the coast. Finally, Korra found something to say. "You know, when you have your hair pulled back like that, you look a lot like your mom. All you need are some bangs in the front."

It wasn't a lie, either. Jinora had grown to be every bit as beautiful as Pema. Long flowing locks of brown hair were kept loosely tied at her back. Her bone structure was delicate, her smile serene, her gaze soft. She'd filled out, too womanly, but very easy on the eyes.

"It's nice of you to say." Even her words had matured, flattery and compliments accepted, both with gratitude and grace. "You can't take it either, can you?" Jinora asked as she paused to pick up a pebble, tossing into the depths with a loud plunk. "The way they keep looking out here like I'm just break or something."

Korra sighed, feeling a whole lot older than she really was. She was only in her middle twenties, but she felt lifetimes older. "You wanna get outta here?"

"There's no place else to go." Jinora tried, she failed. That's why she came home. Being alone, well that just wasn't her style. "I guess I'm stuck here…never thought that would stick in my craw as much as it does."

"Do you care if I ask what happened?" Korra shoved her hands in her pockets, she felt like she didn't have the right to ask. "You don't have to tell me, if you don't want to."

Jinora paused, picking up another rock. "It's pretty simple, really. I wanted to settle, and Kai didn't." It hit the water, another plunk that echoed in the air. A finality. "Not all nomads aren't supposed to be nomads forever. Eventually, you find a place, you call it home."

"He didn't want a place to call home?" Korra asked, almost confused. "Seems like the kind of guy who'd want something like that…considering."

"Nah, he's a nomad. A real one." Jinora said with a shrug. "He sleeps in trees and follows herds of bison everywhere. He's where he should be."

"And you aren't?" Korra was confused. "This is your home, you grew up here."

Jinora just laughed a little. "It's my father's home, but it's not my home." Jinora looked back to the sprawling temple. They'd walked out so far that her father was just a tiny red and yellow dot on the rock. "My home is someplace else, with someone else. I just haven't found my own path yet, although to be honest, I don't know if I ever will."

"Yeah…" Korra sighed. "I know what you mean."


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Sorry about chapter 1's weird glitch, it's since been fixed.

 **Chapter Two**

Firelight bounced off of the walls, ten candles illuminating her office. None of them were scented, she considered artificial smells an unwelcome thing in her office. Lin would have had a light on, if she didn't already have a migraine. She gazed over from her reports tiredly. She would never complete them, if her visitor kept being a thorn in her backside. She decided to put a stop to it.

"As interesting as your family life might be, Tenzin, I do have better things to be doing." Regarding her close frond once more, she felt sorry for him. "Did it ever occur to you that Rohan just can't air bend?"

"He must be able to." Tenzin was so sure of it. "It's in his very blood, his being."

"Be that as it may, children normally begin bending during infancy." Lin recited, the long practiced theory mostly held true by professionals. "Earth benders might take a little longer, sure, but air benders shouldn't have any trouble displaying some sort of aptitude."

"Yes, well he has the personality for it." Tenzin offered hopefully. He craved that his youngest son should have the same affinity as the rest of his children. "Rohan must be afraid to show his promise, his skill."

"Tenzin, if he could bend air, he'd have shown it by now." Lin muttered from under her breath. "Why are you even here?"

"It has become increasingly difficult to meditate at the island." He admitted, forlornly. "I came here to clear my head a bit."

"So meditate here, on the floor!" Lin barked.

"Actually, I have no desire as of right now to do that." He nipped at his retort and sat down in a chair across from her. "You've been away from the island for a while. There's plenty of happenings, you know. You're missing out on too many of them."

She lifted an eyebrow at his antics. "I have work to do…"

"You put every effort into protecting the city. The citizens are thankful for it. Yet, wouldn't it be nice to do something that you would like for a change?" He plucked at his robe, slightly offended. He had never grown used to Lin's sharp tongue. "Besides, Pema wishes it. She does miss you, dearly at that." He then grew quiet. "As do I."

Lin set down her pen, tenting her fingers so that she could rest her chin upon them. "I've already told you…both of you…I don't need your concern. I have absolutely no desire to come between you and Pema."

Tenzin gave her a withering sigh. "Lin, we're not getting any younger."

"No." Lin murmured. "We most certainly are not. For that, we can all be thankful."

"Could you, by any chance, at least admit that staying at the temple makes you happy?" Tenzin asked. He knew it to be true. They all knew it to be true.

"Tenzin, you are the most aggravating human being on the face of this planet. You drive me completely up the wall, and you can be as dense as a hunk of pure steel." Lin began as she roughly moved some papers around. "Yes." She would be honest, with herself, and with him. "It was nice not to be alone."

"Then come, break bread at my table." He insisted gently. "Step into the warmth of family, embrace it."

"I can't." Lin said, words jagged. "I wish that I could, but I just can't." She let her green eyes glare into him. "I don't want to be reminded that I love you. That chapter in my life closed years ago, it should have stayed that way. I should not have grown close to Pema, and I should have stayed angry at you."

He didn't agree in the slightest, not with the hard and fast look of cold disapproval. He found, at the edges of her glassy expression, something akin to hope. Something terribly reminiscent in that gaze of hers. It troubled him. He too, wanted to reach out and tell her what his heart had long felt.

…

A pan flute.

The dawn hadn't even broken yet, but she could hear it so clearly. She thought she was dreaming. Rolling over, she listened.

Her ears weren't deceiving her.

Korra would know that sound anywhere. She perked up, eyes and ears searching for the sound. She wasn't expecting to hear it, but now that she had, she was sorely reminded of her father, how he played it often for her. Especially when she was little. Hearing the woody tones echo in the air made her heart skip beats, reminding her of times long gone.

Days when she was little. She and Naga would romp around in snow. Back then, the drifts were almost taller than she was.

Her father would sit in a place high up, making music for hours. Korra would try to dance. Once, he told her he played so that the whole tribe could hear him. Really, he was only so high, so that he could look out for her. Protect her, in his own way.

Nostalgic, she searched. The roof of the house. That's where the sound was coming from. It was Jinora who had the flute to her lips, playing a calm, yet wistful melody.

"Where did you learn to play like that?" Korra asked, joining the girl's side, listening until she finished the song.

"Hmm?" Jinora looked out at the water. "I taught myself. One too many days away from civilization, you miss the little things." She handed Korra the flute. "As an air bender, it's easy to learn."

The flue was made of dark wood. It was hand crafted, carefully made. Either way, Korra was no musician, and handed it back to Jinora. "I never could play those stupid things. My dad could, and I used to want to learn how too. It used to make me so mad when I just couldn't get it right."

"You've always had trouble with the air element." Jinora said quietly.

"Yeah." Korra couldn't forget that. "Guess I have."

"Hey, Korra, I can't connect to the spirit world anymore." Jinora said it so suddenly, Korra thought she'd misheard something. Jinora confirmed it once more. "Every time I try, I can't. It happened after Kai and I parted ways."

"It's probably just because you're upset." Korra said then, trying so hard to keep her voice even. It grew weaker by the word. "The spirit world is finicky like that."

"I keep telling myself it's a phase." Jinora was so gentle with her words. So much like her element. "If I just try harder, meditate longer. If I keep trying, persistence will pay off…" The young woman sighed, shoulders slumping in defeat. "Deep down, I know that's not it. I just, I don't know what is. What's keeping me from entering? I wonder."

"Have you tried talking to Tenzin?" When brown eyes sent her a knowing look, Korra held a hand up in surrender. "Right, I know. Dumb question."

Jinora closed her eyes, making her breath even as could be. Deep breaths, stillness, relaxation. "Yes, I talked to my father at length. He doesn't know what to do either. Naturally, I left it at that. I don't want to worry him without a good reason."

"But it bothers you…" Korra assumed. "That you can't get there."

Jinora frowned as she opened her eyes, looking to Korra honestly. A sad smile fluttered by, and Korra wished she could catch it, but a frown had already formed on Jinora's beautiful face. "It's not my job to go into the spirit world. I love it there, but I could live without it too. Even if I were to never step foot in the spirit world again, it's truly not my place anyway."

Korra could hear it though, the disappointment in Jinora's voice. The desire to go back.

"Yeah well, I haven't gone there in a long time." Korra let out a long, agitated sigh. Elbow resting on her knee, she toyed with the baggy blue fabric of her pants. "I don't know when I'll go back." It was too painful, too full of memories Korra didn't want to be reminded of. "I don't go as often as I should."

Korra knew why she couldn't get in. It was because of Asami, and the feelings she couldn't put to rest. She loved Asami so much. It was hard to reconcile the fact that they weren't together anymore. It had been Korra's deepest love, her most meaningful one. A love like that was more than just mind and body, it was the soul too.

Her soul, and she was the avatar.

She'd given herself over to Asami completely, loved her entirely.

The loss of the love, the change of it, left a hole that had yet to be filled. The hole seemed to grow wider by the day, even though Korra and Asami had long since rebuilt their friendship. The spiritual connection, or lack of it, had taken its toll on Korra. She was not well attuned to the spirit world in the first place. She was not like her predecessors. The tiniest fracture of her faith, both in herself, and the world, was detrimental.

It was probably the same for Jinora.

"I think...it's because you broke up with Kai. Not just that you did coincidentally. But, it's the actual reason." Korra said as she stood and dusted herself off. "Air bending is a spiritual thing. It takes a lot of faith. If that wavers, you might lose the connection to the spirits."

Jinora considered it too, thought that might be the case. "I've never had this sort of problem before."

Korra gave a sad, bitter smile. "Yeah, well, you've never been so unsure of yourself before."

…

At least they hadn't lost their bending. There were stories of people who lost their abilities under emotional stress, trauma, or impairment.

They could go through the motions of training, and so they did. Together, in the early morning and in late evening. When the sun burned a rainbow across the sky, they swirled air in a circle, dancing and weaving around in the hot summer air. Neither one of them meditated, neither one of them wanted the possibility of failure. So instead they just danced, vortex after vortex, gentle breeze after gentle breeze. The tighter the air became, the closer they stood until fingertips wove patterns around each other.

Once this happened, Korra's clumsiness won out. The wind would lose momentum, breaking and scattering into nothingness.

"You're not used to this, are you?" Jinora asked, tangling her fingers with Korra's.

"You're the first one I've done this with." Korra admitted, having not learned this from Tenzin.

It was advanced air bending, but all of the siblings could do it. "It's because you're not used to touching while bending, I think." Jinora wove some air between their fingers. The air tickled, cool to the touch on their heated skin. "You graze against me too roughly. It can only be the smallest of touches. The air has to be able to slip through."

"Will this really help spiritually?" Korra asked, feeling doubtful.

Jinora wasn't entirely sure either, and pulled away. She looked at the tattoos on the back of her hand. For a master, there was still so much she didn't know. "All I know is that when I was a kid, and I was in the library inside of the spirit world, there was a book. Some air benders wrote, and I ended up snooping. I wanted to know what was inside. This was a training method, but I don't know why they did it."

"Do you miss Ikki and Meelo?" Korra asked then, knowing that both of them were on their own, someplace. "I know they were better training partners than I ever was."

"Yes and no." At this, Jinora ran a hand through her long brown tresses, and leaned back on the wooden railing of the gazebo. "I don't miss training with them. Ikki was always slow on the uptake, and Meelo was too unpredictable."

"No one is slower on the uptake than I am." Korra pointed out, as she came to relax, leaning on the railing as well. "I suck at learning new things."

Jinora only let out a small laugh. "I miss Ikki's banter. So cheerful, and just fun to be around. I miss Meelo's antics, never a dull moment when he's up to something." Jinora knew her brother and sister hadn't changed much. Always bickering with each other, and forever making trouble for anyone in their way. "They'll probably journey together for a few more years before either one of them settles down. They don't want to admit it, but they're inseparable, and they both have a thirst for adventure."

"So do you." Korra turned to her. "Or, you used to."

"Hmm, used to, I think. See, I've seen so much, in my time away." Jinora's mind once again drifted to Kai. What was he doing now? Probably making himself comfortable in a tree somewhere by now. Either that, or a grassy knoll. "I'll always travel for the right reasons. It's just, I want to be able to go home at the end of it all. Like I did, when I was a child."

Korra reached out, pulling a leaf out of a few wayward tresses. "Too much wind." She explained, holding the greenery between her fingertips. She reached out again, to push the stray lock of hair behind Jinora's ear. "I guess that's what happens when you make cyclones for fun."

"Korra?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you take me…to the spirit world?" Brown eyes found blue. "I miss it there."

Korra swallowed hard and shook her head. She wished it were that easy. "I…can't. I wish I could, but I just can't."

"Well, that's unfortunate." Jinora forced a smile. "I understand. I suppose, I just need to find my faith again. That's all."

…

Tenzin finally got his wish, or so he thought.

"Okay Rohan, now all you need to do is loosen up your stance." Tenzin coached gently as he taught his youngest son the fundamentals of weaving air.

"Kay!" The young lad chirped as he tried, and failed, to make a small breeze. When waving his arms around didn't work, he squatted low and started flapping them like a bird.

"Looser son." Tenzin said with a small chuckle. "You're not an earth bender." He righted the boy, put him back into a better position. "There you go, stay light on your feet now."

"Why is this so hard?" Rohan asked, flapping his hands around once more. "Stupid wind, move!"

"Careful. You won't bend anything like that." Tenzin murmured, taking his son's wrists and guiding them. "More like this. Flowing movements."

Pema sighed dejectedly. She had been hoping for one child that was like her. Unable to bend, and content living as a simple acolyte. Low and behold though, even her youngest, though a late bloomer, was going to follow his father's path. "That makes four." She said to Korra offhandedly from the sidelines.

"Only if he actually manages to move the air." Korra told the woman quietly. "Are you sure Tenzin wasn't just having wishful thinking? It could have been a very strong sneeze."

"Strong enough to tip over the end table?" Pema had seen it with her own two eyes. Her son was indeed an air bender – just not a very skilled one yet.

"Point taken." Korra watched onward. Attempt after attempt, Rohan struggled to follow his father's instruction. "Meelo had the right idea when he chucked the plate at Bumi."

"I am not flinging my good china at my son." Pema gasped with a playful grin, slapping Korra on the arm lightly.

"I'm only saying that some of us learn better when there's something to react too." Korra protested. It seemed to her that this was getting the father and son nowhere fast. Jinora had long since given up, leaving to stick her nose in a few old books. "We could sign him up for the kid's bending league. Might do some good."

"Now, don't go giving my husband kittens, he frets over Rohan enough as it is. Anyway, I should get dinner started." Pema said as she went into the house. "They'll be hungry when they come in."

"I'll help." Korra followed behind.

Air benders were vegetarians, meaning they ate a lot of beans which were high in protein. Korra noticed there was already a bowl of them sitting out to soak. There were also all of the fixings for a salad. Fresh dough waited to be made into rolls, and a soup pot sat on the stove. As they were seeing to dinner, Korra's eyes drifted from the cutting board to the seating area.

Jinora rested, her chin in her palm. The book was thick, and her brown eyes were glued to the pages with rapt attention. She really was beautiful like that, oblivious to the world. Feeling guilty, Korra bit her lip. Jinora deserved to get back to the spirit world somehow.

"Pema…remember what we talked about?"

Green eyes lifted from her task, watching as Korra set the knife down. "Yes?" Pema waited.

"Do you really think it's true?" Korra asked vaguely before correcting herself. "What you said, about Tenzin, I mean."

"About who you were sneaking off with? He wouldn't bat an eye." Pema told her honestly. "Now let me ask you something. How invested were you with Asami?"

"Invested?" Korra echoed, feeling tension build up on her shoulders and back.

"You don't have to play dumb." Pema laughed. "I'm hardly likely to be offended."

"No… It's not that… I mean, it's like…" What did she mean? Korra went back to cutting up vegetables, this time with a little more force than necessary. "Spirits, I don't even know. I think about her, and my head just starts to hurt. It gets hard to breath, and I just…" She shook her head. "I keep…" She thought hard, trying to find the words. She put down the knife again, and leaned heavily on counter. "I keep replaying my life, over and over again in my head. I think about everything. About Bolin, and Mako…I think about Asami and I…" She choked up again, felt her throat tighten. She hated that feeling. "I can't shake this."

"Did anyone else know?" Pema asked quietly.

The dark skinned girl shook her head. "It wasn't something we planned." Korra said gripping the counter till her knuckles lost their color. "It just happened. In the forest, I leaned in, and she didn't push me away so…" Korra shrugged, but all that served to do was coil her up even more than before. "But it happened, more than once. We came back home, we didn't stop. We just…didn't set anything in stone."

Pema nodded, she understood. She gentled her voice, speaking only facts. "You didn't tell her that you loved her, did you?"

"I didn't think she wanted me to." Korra spoke between gently clenched teeth. "But, she did."

"And that's when she got a call from Suyin, saying they could use her help with the new city upgrades." Pema finally started putting the pieces together. "She had an opportunity, and you let her go."

Korra looked Pema right in the eyes, her words so dry, it was like the desert itself had engulfed her. "I hurt her." Korra hissed. "I didn't ask her to stay here with me, I didn't demand to go with her." She bit her lip. "I hurt her, plain and simple. I screwed up huge...more than huge." It was so hard to think about. Only friendship, and never anything more, but she would respect Asami's choice. "She said that it was the last time. That I let her slip away before too, back when I was poisoned. She couldn't believe I made the same mistake again."

Pema put hand on Korra's back, saying nothing. She didn't dare pour salt in the already clearly open wound. By the look of it, Korra had already done a good job of that on her own.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I hope this chapter finds you well. Next update likely on the 7th, 8th or 9th of next week.

 **Chapter 3**

It was always hot in the workshop. A black tank-top, a pair of white overalls, and her steel-toed boots were the only things she could muster wearing in the steamy heat. Releasing a satisfied sigh, she slid herself out from the engine she was building. Oil smeared a line across her cheek, and her unkempt hair ran widely down her back when she pulled it out of the tail she'd tied it in. finding her canteen of water, she drank deeply from it, before pouring the rest over her head, the droplets hissing as soon as they hit the concrete floor.

"It's stifling in here." She said, as she patted her face dry with the red and black stripped handkerchief she kept in her back pocket. "How's the supply run going, Bolin?"

"Don't know what I'm doing." He said, a shake in his voice as he carried long planks of wood across the workshop floor. He set them down beside Asami. "Do you think this will really help to cut down on pollution?"

"Easily." Asami told him, a hand on her hip. "These new trains will run on polarity. Positive and negative charges. That charge will be what pushes or pulls the train cars. It'll be cleaner energy for sure. Cheaper for the Earth Kingdom in the long run too. If they don't have to spend so many man-hours mining coal just for transportation, that time can be better spent in other economical pursuits."

"Yeah…but isn't all of this renovation expensive?" Bolin asked, glancing about. He didn't know the names of all of the parts scattered around, but they looked complicated.

"A little bit, for sure. Zaofu will see a loss for a few years. I wouldn't have advised the city planning commission to do something like this under normal circumstances." Asami admitted as she waved him over to one of the tables. A large map was rolled out. "Kuvira might have gone about it the wrong way, but the railway lines she made could really help trade and commerce throughout the entirety of the Earth Kingdom."

"I don't know Asami." He scratched his head. "Isn't it a bit much?"

It was a gigantic undertaking, and it would take years to even complete the project. Especially if she wanted to do it right. Asami sighed, giving her head a little tilt. "Suyin is concerned. She never wanted to step up and forcefully lead other people. The problem is, all of Earth Kingdom sits in disarray because of what Kuvira did. She was a powerful force, and now, everything is crazier than it was before. No one with experience has taken charge, and someone has to do that before another civil war breaks out."

"Yeah, but do we really have to bring the entire track through Zaofu?" He frowned at the schematic. He just didn't understand. "Won't that just make a bigger mess?"

"Bolin," Asami laughed as she put a hand on his shoulder. "The railway isn't going through Zaofu, it's going underneath it. We're going to be building an underground tunnel."

"Today alone, four whole groups of refugees came to Zaofu looking for a place to say." Bolin sighed, his mind on them. He didn't want anyone sleeping in the streets. "Don't you think building homes for these people should come first?"

"I do." Suyin was behind them, coming up the walkway. "Some of my guards are bending a temporary shelter to get the refugees settled." Her eyes fell to Asami's contraption, and then to Bolin. "I'll do everything I can to help, but money doesn't grow off of trees. In order for me to be in any position to keep sending supplies, Zaofu needs to maintain an extremely strong economy. I don't want to control people, I want them to be able to come to me. Transit for the common civilian is imperative to that goal."

Bolin bit his lip, nodding. "I'm going to go help the refugees."

"Opal is rounding supplies inside of the kitchen." She told the man sympathetically, knowing his past and his plight.

"Hobo soup it is then." He rushed off, leaving Asami's worship still in disarray.

She shook her head as she looked at all of the things she couldn't lift easily without his help. "Now how am I connect the prototype together?"

Suyin looked over to where pipes lay on the wall. Surely neither one of them would be able to lift them normally, but metal bending would solve that. Pulling off her bracelets she looked around. "I don't suppose you have another pair of overalls, do you?"

Asami looked up, a bit surprised. "Yeah, actually. I do."

…

Korra was beginning to doubt that time healed all wounds.

It was something she heard, read about in books, and studied profusely. She couldn't fathom pain like hers evaporating into thin air. Asami had written her another letter, and she had written one back once more. It was all pleasant topics. The weather, the news. The letters didn't go too deep, were never too personal. Still, they were friends, and shared little happenings in their daily lives. Asami detailed a funny story about how Bolin slid in a puddle of oil. Korra responded by telling Asami about Rohan's accidental air bending.

Korra avoided any type of ending to her letters, letting trail off into nothingness. She couldn't bear the idea of finality. She didn't want Asami to get the wrong idea, and worse still, she was afraid that Asami still knew the truth. Still knew that Korra loved her. It had been over a year since Asami's departure already. How much longer would it take before the pain finally went away?

Korra didn't know, but after a few weeks of training, she was growing agitated. No progress was being made, she still couldn't reach the spirit world, and she couldn't help Jinora.

It was time to talk to Tenzin. Korra had been putting it off, but Pema stepped in. The mother of four kick the two of them out of the house with little more than a picnic basket and blanket on one sunny afternoon.

"Go, shoo." She urged them, standing in the doorway so they couldn't get back in. "Go train someplace else for a change."

"I don't see why we can't train in the yard like always." Tenzin retorted, hands folded in his robes.

"Tenzin…"

His ears knew that tone well. It was a soft tone of warning, one that let him know he ought not to trifle with his wife at the moment. He looked to Korra, she seemed equally displeased at the idea of this outing. Sighing, he turned to her. "No use in arguing, off we go."

"Where in the heck do we go?" Korra asked as she carried their lunch. This was not her idea of a good time. "It's not like this island has many good training spots."

"I doubt that was her intention." He knew Pema very well. This was her way of forcing them to bond. The only problem was he hadn't the slightest clue what the woman hoped to achieve by doing this. "No, she doesn't want us to train, that much is for sure."

"Yeah, well sitting around all day isn't going to help anything." Korra sighed.

"That is her goal though, I believe. This is not the first time I've been shoved out of my home with a picnic lunch." He replied then, giving the dark skinned girl a sideways glance. "This is her way of forcing people to bond, you see. She deems it rather effective, even if I do not."

Korra found herself curious. "Dare I even ask?"

"Bumi and Kya." Tenzin shrugged. "Who else?" His words were light, if not a bit self-deprecating. "I hardly ever had such difficulty with the children."

"Yeah…" Korra smirked, but it didn't reach her eyes. "That makes sense."

"Yes, well, she isn't going to let us back in the house until we've had talk." He cleared his throat. He wasn't exactly good at bonding with Korra outside of training. "You've been rather despondent recently, and I think Pema's noticed."

Basket in hand, she gripped it, feeling the wooden handles creek from the pressure. "More than noticed…honestly."

"Hmm?" A question that needed no more than that small sound.

"We've been talking. Pema wants me to tell to you about it." They reached a large flat bolder, a perfect place to be for a picnic. "She's been wanting me to do it for a while, I just never got around to it."

To this, Tenzin inclined his head, looking to the sky, then to Korra. He thought a moment, one hand coming up to stroke his long beard. "You've been troubled so deeply?"

"I can't go into the spirit world." Korra shrugged, her eyes downcast.

"Oh…" Tenzin grew quiet, as they both sat down. "I see."

"Every time I try, the portal flings me back." Korra pulled out a sandwich, looking at it, instead of the air master beside her. "I can't meditate in either."

Tenzin poured some tea into two cups, handing Korra one of them. He noticed the hints of swelling on her fingertips, the mark of hard practice with Jinora. This made him proud, Korra had been putting a great deal of effort into her studies. "Well, spirituality has never been your strong suit." He said carefully, his sympathy very deep as it washed over him. "You're like me in that way. For as much as we may try, sometimes the spirits elude us."

"I…broke it." Korra admitted. "I know why I can't get in. I just, don't know how to fix it."

"Well, we have a pretty large lunch, and the sun is still high." Tenzin offered helpfully. "Perhaps you might start at the beginning. Maybe we can find the solution together."

It wasn't going to be that easy, but she didn't tell him that. He'd figure out soon enough.

Instead, she told him about Asami. About how her feelings bloomed for the woman, growing and deepening. She kept the more personal details to herself. Outside of that, though, her heart spilled as she fumbled with her words. It was harder telling him than it was telling Pema. He was so quiet through it all, and that bothered her.

She wanted for his explosion of rage - it never came.

She wanted for his chastisement - he did little more than sigh.

She waited to hear about how much of a disappointment she was - he merely meditated for a moment.

"Well, aren't you going to say anything?" Korra asked, at the end of her long, difficult tale.

He opened one blue-grey eye, regarding her quietly. He shuffled a bit as he gazed at her. His expression unreadable. When it closed again, his words finally found her ears. "If anything has come to bear down on my mind, it is that I've failed you."

"…wait…what?" It was the furthest thing from what she expected.

He let loose his frustration with a deep sigh. "I try very hard, my utmost in fact, to see that I've trained you properly." He was vexed, his tone showed it. "That you've withheld such things from me, I grieve deeply. If I'd have known, I might have been better able to warn you."

"What, not to get with a girl?" Korra asked harshly.

Tenzin rolled his eyes. "The ramifications of such a deep relationship." He corrected pointedly. "To be so unified in a person." Here he paused, glaring at her to emphasize his point. "Any person, Korra…" He rolled his shoulders and settled himself once more. "Such a bond, well, one could say that's spiritual enlightenment. To lose that, is to lose part of yourself."

"Well then how do I get that part back?" Korra pressed, looking lost, alone. "Tenzin, I'm drowning here. I've tried everything I can think of!"

He wasn't quite sure what to do with all of this newfound information, but, he knew he could not waver. He cleared his throat. "There were several times I struggled in my youth. When my life fell out of balance, so did my bending."

"Yeah but I can still bend." Her words began to fracture under the strain of her voice.

"I am aware, but please, let me finish." If he was aggravated by her outburst, he showed no sign. "I am sure that I would have lost my ability to go into the spirit world too. If that were a skill I had at my disposal to start with, I'm sure I would have found it too difficult."

"That's not really much help." Korra sighed, unimpressed.

"I believe you must learn to find the missing piece." He hadn't expected to hear that Korra had chosen to give herself to a woman, but that didn't change the truth of the matter. The facts were merely that. "This sort of thing happens, Korra. When it does, it can take a toll, as it has with you. Each time you become a little wiser. More able to distinguish what is missing. I believe, you'll get your spiritual connection back…" with this he gentled his gaze. "But, it will take time, and acceptance."

"Is that…" Korra looked out to the waves. "Is that what you told Jinora?"

"Indeed." Tenzin nodded. "Though, I was unaware that she spoke to you about the matter."

"She asked me if I could take her to the spirit world." Korra murmured, annoyed at herself. "Do you think Jinora and Kai...did something…during their pilgrimage?"

"Not a doubt in my mind." Tenzin let loose a chuckle that counted his many years. "I may be getting old, but I'm not daft. She traveled with the lad unattended for two whole years." With a deep breath he smiled good-naturedly. "She cannot go to the spirit world, that is undeniable proof. However, Jinora is still young. I'm sure that sooner or later, she will find her place." His smile faded a bit, when he thought about Korra. "What do you most desire? What would bring you the utmost joy?"

"I…" The easy thing to say, was that she wanted Asami back. That would have been selfish though. Asami had been hurt enough. Korra licked her lips. "I don't know."

"That's the conflict that so chains you." Tenzin replied, placing a hand upon her shoulder. "Find your answer to that, Korra, and you'll find your key back into the spirit world."

…

There was a deep fire pit on the grounds, but it was hardly ever used.

"You know I hate just sitting around." Korra muttered as she looked at the crackling firelight.

"You're as bad as Meelo." Jinora chided with a small little smirk. Meditating by firelight was going to be a bust. She knew it as soon as she thought of it. Still, she had to try, just once. She wanted Korra to try it with her. "Just try to relax a little bit."

She couldn't relax. She fidgeted in an attempt to stay quiet. She sighed when that didn't work. Finally, after some time, Jinora opened her eyes, and pulled two long sticks from her side, and a packet of marshmallows. "It just wasn't meant to be, I guess."

Korra took the offered stick, not realizing that Jinora had even prepared for a snack. "How can you be so calm about it?" Korra asked, shoving a white ball of fluff onto her sharpened stick, holding it over the fire. "It's driving me crazy."

Jinora looked into the fire, it did bother her. So much in fact, she hadn't been sleeping well. "Constant worry will only call shadows and bad karma from the spirits." She watched as her marshmallow grew to be a rich golden color, before plucking it off the stick and placing it carefully into her mouth. It was gooey and warm, a treat she loved as a child. "I know you might not believe this, but I'm not angry at Kai. I'm angry at myself."

Blue eyes widened while Korra cooked her marshmallow into a crispy, melted mess. "But you didn't do anything wrong."

"It's not about what's right and wrong. It's about the things I wanted for myself, what I still want." Jinora had been half hoping she'd find her adventuresome spirit once more, but she didn't want that. She wanted a place of her own, with someone alongside of her. Someone who didn't go flying off into the sunset at a moment's notice. "It's selfish, and deep down, I know my dad wants me to follow in his footsteps. Don't get me wrong. I love that I'm an air bender, but mom's got it lucky. She doesn't have the weight of the air nation holding her down to duty."

"No, your dad does." Korra said honestly, surprising even herself with that bit of insight. "And she's got to carry his weight on her shoulders." She laughed at herself for not seeing that before. "I don't know if you should envy that. We're all lunatics."

"Some of us more than others." Jinora relented, conceding the point. She'd done some pretty dangerous things in her lifetime, most of them asinine when she looked back on it. "Mom wanted the path she took. I see her with Rohan, and I know she doesn't regret a day of it." Jinora sighed, as she leaned into Korra's side.

Korra was well acquainted with the action. Jinora did it as a child too. When Ikki and Meelo made her father's lap impossible to sit on, and Rohan had their mother to himself, Jinora would use Korra as her personal pillow. Korra wrapped her arms around Jinora. Hauling the shorter woman into her lap. It had been out of habit alone. Strangely though, the action didn't feel the same as before. It felt different, and not just because Jinora had grown older.

They'd always been a very clingy group of people, but the feeling of Jinora's head just under her chin was somehow soothing.

Korra brushed it off as loneliness. That, and good old fashioned nostalgia. A handful of years ago, things would be different. It would be all of team avatar and sometimes many others around this fire pit. Shoving their faces full of food, and harassing the crap out of Lin, who joined their circle under protest. The children would avoid bed time like the plague, and sparring matches would be held long into the night. Korra missed it, she was sure Jinora did too.

The silence was long, because Korra didn't know what to say to any of it.

Jinora's words filled the air once more. "I know we were insane, and drove her crazy sometimes. Some of the things that happened to you were pretty terrible too. Even so, I can't help but feel like those were the best days of my life." She felt Korra's nose nuzzle into the hair atop her head. "I keep thinking to myself that I want to be in her place. That I want that kind of insanity for myself."

"Then, just do it." Korra murmured. "Screw what everyone else thinks. You've done enough heroic things for one lifetime."


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Short chapter for two reasons. Firstly being that I had to take an extra work day to cover for a co-worker. Secondly is I wrote myself into stupid, and I was spending the past two days murdering plot bunnies that kept reproducing all over the chapter. The fact of the matter is, unlike some media that I know like the back of my hand indisputably, LOK isn't one of them. That leads me to scouring Wiki's and re-watching old episodes.

Saving grace, chapter five will be out in the coming days since a lot of the content was moved/switched around.

 **Chapter 4**

No metal, no rock, not even glass.

Four walls, made of synthetic material, designed to keep benders like her in, and the world out.

She had little freedom in the space. Though this was her homeland, the people who tended to her cell were guards she once commanded. Once they treated her with fondness and honor, now they sneered at her every single day. Spitting upon the ground as if she were some sort of vile beast. Someone who didn't deserve to breathe the same air as the rest of Zaofu. It was as if they almost thought to kill her themselves.

Perhaps if she had stayed chained up in Republic City, she might have faced some sort of punishment, but most places had long since abolished the death penalty. The practice was grim, and many thought it to be too costly a price to pay.

Yet, prisons did tend to get over crowded.

Thankfully there was a boon of hard labor needed on the outskirts of most large cities. It was here that most small time offended spent weeks in camps doing menial labor as a form of punishment and rehabilitation. It was the ones who couldn't learn the error of their ways that faced lock-up. The worst of the worst were sealed away, solitary, and several miles away from their natural element.

Offenders, like Kuvira found themselves in those custom built cells. She could not bend anything, and strict guard placement kept her from even basic privacy. Four guards during the day, eight at night. How was she to have any peace of mind? Her meals were simple, her entertainment limited to anything that couldn't pose a threat to the guards. Even her newspaper was particularly crafted for inmates, the finite traces of graphite in the ink no longer bendable. If there was a way to make herself a viable escape, she hadn't thought of it yet.

It wasn't for a lack of trying either. When all of her meals came on paper plates, and in paper cups…when even her eating utensils were little more than cardboard, she was at a loss. What was she to do, give the guard a papercut? As it was, she was given mostly grain, and all foods particularly high in minerals were absolutely off limits. A once daily vitamin filled in her nutritional gaps, but that capsule was fibrous, she couldn't bend it, or use it as a bullet either.

She craved for a rare steak, the iron in the blood something she dearly wanted, just so she could remember what metal tasted like. Power, authority, retribution…

A letter slipped under the door, the red lipstick iconic to the off-white envelope. Kuvira swallowed hard, grasping the four sheets of paper sealed within. It was her only salvation from an otherwise impossible existence.

…

Korra knew she was a powerful world leader, or, at least she could have been.

The truth be told, she found herself dumbfounded by the list of complaints headed her way, most of them she could do nothing about. It wasn't for a lack of trying, it was just that sometimes Republic City had to take care of itself.

So what if the city's waterlines weren't up to snuff? That was a job for the water bureau.

There were spirit vines growing underneath some of the city pathways? She would get right on that…and promptly watch as the vines grew twice as fast the next time around.

High profiles figures requested her immediate audience? Wonderful, more people she could agitate simply by breathing the wrong way.

The avatar rested on her bed that afternoon, tossing aside another strongly worded letter. She knew she was failing the eyes of the public, but she couldn't magically solve the problems. As Tenzin told her, she couldn't handle all of the world's problems for them. She couldn't keep trying to. The most she could do was take a breath, and force herself to see the bigger picture. She was the bringer of change, and it was their job to accept those changes as they came.

She knew this, and even partially believed it...so why did she feel so stagnant?

It was like, no matter what she did, it wasn't good enough – for her or the public at large. She rolled over, face pressed to the pillow as the other unopened letters slid off of the bed and pooled on the floor. along with the ones she had already read. She had bigger, more selfish worries. Thoughts that she couldn't push away from her mind, no matter how often she tried. By herself, the silence grew to be too much.

She was too restless, and that was maddening.

"Korra?" Jinora didn't hesitate to slide the door open. "I brought tea…and a sandwich, since you skipped out on lunch."

"Thanks." For the tiniest of moments, it wasn't so deafeningly quiet, and Korra was thankful. "Sorry it's kind of a mess in here."

"No more than usual on mail days." Jinora said as she helped Korra pick up the mess on the floor. "Most of it's bad news again, isn't it?"

"No, not all of it." Korra pointed to the desk where a few letters waited for a reply. "The school children wrote me letters asking questions, I have to answer them, but I like that kind of work." She took the offered cup. The tea she sipped was warm. It wasn't particularly calming to the senses, but, at least her brain didn't see fit to twist and coil around all of her doubts, trying to find a way out of them. "You okay, Jinora? You look like you were training all afternoon."

Jinora nodded. Maybe she did look a little wind blown. "Dad's going away again. He needs to oversee the training of the air benders." She understood the responsibility her father endured, and didn't envy the man. Air benders made him happy though, so she suspected he didn't mind his appointed duties. "He wants me to go with him, travel the temples. He thinks it'll be good for me."

"So, are you going?" Korra asked, but found that the question sounded gritty to her ears.

Jinora sighed, and then she shrugged, lifting her tea to her lips.

Korra took the uncertainty as a bad sign, but she never had been good at comforting people. The right things to say always weighed heavily in her mind, and what if she said them wrong? It was the last thing she wanted to do. Trying her best to avoid clumsiness she asked a different question. "Pema will stay here, I'm guessing?"

"Her and Rohan both. Someone needs to stay behind who can look after the younger acolytes." Jinora began in that same tone she always took when at her wits end. Calm, yet so aggravated that it slipped into the undercurrent of every sound. "That, and dad think's Rohan isn't ready for this kind of journey. He thinks all the moving around will only make him excitable."

"Isn't that a family thing?" Korra asked, eyebrow raised in suspicion

"You would think that, wouldn't you?" Jinora laughed, finally a smile peeking through the cloudy thoughts her mind had been bothering her with. "It's true, though my dad gets just as ambitious about his air bending too, he just shows it in different ways." She leaned back, resting her head on the wall, eye closed once more. "Amazing how time changes a person's perspective, isn't it?"

"I don't know if I'd call it that…" Korra murmured despondently.

Jinora set down her empty cup of tea, leveling her eyes fully onto Korra. "Then, what would you call it?"

Korra searched her mind, but came up short. "I don't know…never really thought about it."

Jinora had already decided. She knew what she wanted, and it wasn't traveling around. "I'm not going with him." She said, the abruptness of her statement a shock to Korra. "I'm staying here to oversee the island, and Rohan's training." Her eyes flicked to Korra's scarred fingertips and smirked. "Yours too. We need to figure out how to get you back to the spirit world...and I need to go back too."


End file.
